Continuing education / Requirements / New York
New York Psychologist continuing education requirements
New York psychologists generally need 36 hours of approved continuing education during each three-year registration period. No more than 12 of those hours may be self-study. Registration periods beginning on or after April 1, 2023, must include 3 hours on maintaining appropriate professional boundaries. Psychologists also need 3 hours of professional ethics, including New York laws, rules and regulations.
Your first three-year registration is exempt from the regular CE requirement. A separate mandated-reporter update must be completed by November 17, 2026, unless an applicable exemption has been approved. Choose providers approved by NYSED for your profession and use the dates on your registration certificate to plan renewal.
What the board requires
Mandated topics
Included in the 36-hour requirement for an applicable, nonexempt three-year registration period. Use a profession-approved course addressing appropriate boundaries in the professional relationship. A generic ethics course is not automatically a boundaries course.
Our course for this: Ethics and Professional Boundaries (3 hours). CE credit approvals in progress.
Included in the 36 hours for a nonexempt three-year registration period. The required professional-ethics study includes New York laws, rules and regulations. Document the ethics requirement and the separate boundaries requirement; do not assume any single 3-hour course satisfies both.
Our course for this: Ethics and Professional Boundaries (3 hours). CE credit approvals in progress.
Complete NYSED-approved child-abuse identification and reporting training unless an applicable exemption is approved. The earlier updated curriculum addressed implicit bias, adverse childhood experiences and recognizing abuse in virtual settings, with an April 1, 2025, deadline. A further update covering children with intellectual or developmental disabilities is due by November 17, 2026. If you completed approved training from November 1, 2022, through August 31, 2025, NYSED permits the 15-minute addendum offered by approved providers. Otherwise use the full updated training, available from approved providers beginning September 1, 2025. The 2-hour figure describes the full training route, not an additional 2 hours every registration. This requirement is separate from ordinary CE; count credit toward the 36 hours only when it also meets your profession’s CE rules.
Format and self-study limits
For a full 36-hour registration period, self-study is capped at 12 hours. For a shortened period, no more than one-third of the required hours may be self-study. Recorded webinars and asynchronous online courses are generally self-study. Live online courses that permit real-time interaction with the instructor and other participants are not treated as self-study.
All coursework can be completed online if at least 24 of the 36 hours are qualifying live, interactive courses and no more than 12 are self-study. The rules also recognize specified educational activities, with their own credit and documentation limits; 24 classroom hours is not a universal requirement when those alternatives are used.
Psychology independent study is a separate permitted activity limited to one-third of the requirement, credited at 1 CE hour for 3 hours of study, with a written narrative and evaluation. Do not treat undocumented reading as a provider-issued self-study course or as unrestricted CE.
Which providers count
The provider must be approved by NYSED to offer CE specifically for psychology when the course is taken. Approval for another New York profession does not establish acceptance for this license. APA, NBCC or ASWB approval alone is insufficient without the required NYSED profession-specific approval. Check the department’s approved-provider list and the course certificate; employer training is not automatically accepted.
Child-abuse reporting training uses its own NYSED provider-approval process. A course that satisfies that training requirement supplies regular CE only if it also qualifies under your profession’s CE rules. Do not assume a short update addendum automatically earns a full CE hour.
Reporting and audits
Attest to completing the required CE when renewing your registration with NYSED. There is no routine CE Broker reporting requirement for this registration. Keep certificates and supporting records for at least six years after completion and submit them if NYSED requests verification. Routine registration renewal does not require uploading every CE certificate.
Mandated-reporter training is a separate documentation process. Current licensees can submit the child-abuse training certification or approved exemption through NYSED’s licensee document upload service; a general CE renewal attestation does not substitute for that requirement.
First renewal
The first three-year New York registration period is exempt from regular CE, including for a clinician first licensed in New York after licensure elsewhere. CE is required for subsequent registration periods. If the following period is shortened to align with your birth month, calculate the obligation at 1 hour per month and apply the one-third self-study limit. The first-registration CE exemption does not by itself exempt you from mandated-reporter training or its required updates.
Common questions
How many continuing education hours do New York psychologists need?
Generally 36 hours per three-year registration after the initial exempt period. Include 3 boundaries hours for registration periods beginning on or after April 1, 2023. Shortened periods generally require 1 hour per month. Psychologists also need 3 ethics hours including New York laws and regulations.
Can I complete all New York CE online?
Yes, using qualifying formats and profession-approved providers. A full three-year period allows up to 12 self-study hours. If using courses for all 36 hours, at least 24 must be live and interactive; eligible live webinars can meet that portion.
When is my New York CE deadline?
Finish CE by the expiration date on your registration certificate. New York uses individual registration periods, so there is no single annual deadline for everyone. The separate mandated-reporter update has a statewide deadline of November 17, 2026.
Do I need CE for my first New York renewal?
The first three-year registration period is exempt from regular CE. Requirements begin for subsequent registration periods, including a prorated requirement if the next period is shortened. Mandated-reporter training and required updates remain separate.
Must I repeat child-abuse training if I already took the 2025 update?
A further update covering children with intellectual or developmental disabilities is due by November 17, 2026. If your approved training was completed from November 1, 2022, through August 31, 2025, you may use the approved 15-minute addendum. Otherwise complete the full updated curriculum. Keep and submit the required certification according to NYSED instructions.
Do New York psychologists need both ethics and boundaries?
Yes. For an applicable nonexempt registration period, psychology requires 3 hours of professional ethics including New York laws and regulations, and the boundaries rule requires 3 hours for periods beginning on or after April 1, 2023. Check course content and documentation for each obligation.
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Not legal advice. This guide summarizes board rules for convenience. Your board's current published rules control.
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